On the third day of the October lunar month, it is late autumn, the sky is getting colder and the autumn wind is swaying.

Autumn often has two distinct sides in the eyes of the ancients, one is a good harvest. By autumn, the various crops in the fields have reached a complete maturity. After working for a year, it is time to harvest and give yourself and the country an explanation. Therefore, autumn is joyful in the eyes of most people.

The second is solemnity. When autumn comes, winter comes, and the weather turns cold, from the original warmth to the cold, from the south wind to the bitter north wind, which is weather-like; more importantly, it is in the autumn. Every autumn, a large number of serious criminals who are waiting to be punished will be executed, regardless of the capital or the local government. Every time, when the solemnity is seen, people will be in awe.

Just like the imperial court collects taxes, the autumn decision is not a certain day, and there are often changes every year, and this year is set on the third day of October.

It seemed that I felt the solemn aura brought by this killing. Today's sky was actually gloomy. The thick clouds covered the sun, making people unable to see a trace of brightness. Coupled with the howling north wind, the climate in Luoyang City was not very good.

But even so, the city is still much more lively today than usual. Many people who don’t go out on weekdays also wandered out, and then headed towards one place - Caishikou, because it is the place where the prisoners were killed every autumn decision every year.

The entrance of this vegetable market is located in the west of the city, at the intersection of the inner and outer cities. Due to the convenient transportation, the imperial court made an exception and allowed the opening of a small market outside the east and west cities, mainly selling vegetables and some other small items. Therefore, it is quite lively here every day and people come and go.

But no matter which day, there were not as many people gathered here as today. Tens of thousands of people rushed into the small vegetable market entrance. The restaurants on both sides had long been occupied by those who came first. Everyone stretched their necks and kept looking at the high stone platform in the middle, waiting for the damn prisoners to be brought up quickly and then stab them with a crack.

For people of this era, there is still too little entertainment. It’s good that those who are rich can go to trellis houses, brothels and gambling houses to exchange money for happiness. But those ordinary people at the bottom who can only support themselves and their families cannot have such spare money, so they can only try their best to join in the fun.

And Qiu Jue's beheading has become a big entertainment that no one wants to miss. The names of those prisoners who are about to be killed are enough for everyone to be muttered for half a month. What is the corrupt official Wang in Huguang who has greed for three million taels of silver in a few years, and the cruel official Li in the southeast tortured more than ten people to death for his political achievements... There are also some thieves and bandits who have some names in the world who have killed dozens or hundreds of innocent people...

Now, these big figures in the eyes of ordinary people have to not take them to the execution ground and kill them with one knife. Such good and evil will be rewarded, and killing people will naturally make people excited. They wish they could come up to them and look at the knife and cut people into two pieces.

The spectators on the side of the court had three floors inside and three floors outside. Before the Si time was still blocked, they had already blocked the road. If the Ministry of Justice had not been prepared, they would have been afraid that even the prisoners would not have been taken in. But even so, when the prisoners were sent to the stage one by one, many officers and soldiers were still frightened and at a loss because of howlings.

The opposite is the noisy situation on the court. At this moment, it is related to the other end of the autumn decree. In the palace, in front of the current emperor Sun Yong, only King Yong Sun Lin reported there: "Father, there are 57 serious criminals waiting to be executed this year. The sons have led people to interrogate them one by one. They all committed unforgivable crimes, and they should not be forgiven. Therefore, they were convicted of their death sentences. Please check them out."

A long list has been spread out in front of the emperor, and many of the crimes they committed were listed behind each name. The emperor narrowed his old eyes and looked carefully. His face was not very good-looking. Killing people has never been a happy thing.

After carefully passing the contents on the top, the emperor let out a breath, then picked up the red pen on one side and slowly hooked the names: "Since you are an unforgivable person, you should kill him to warn him. Sun Lin, you have been in the Ministry of Justice for six years, what do you think about this?"

Sun Lin was refreshed and immediately said, "My son thought that killing was not to vent his anger and punish him, but to give the world an explanation and a reminder. Tell everyone that my King of Yue was strict and strict. Whether it was an official or a civilian, he must follow it. If anyone dared to offend, he would pay the price for it."

"Well, I'll be relieved if you have such an idea. The Ministry of Justice is not set up to punish criminals, but to teach people to abide by the law and guide them to be kind. Therefore, if some criminals have the heart to repent, they still need to forgive them. This is pretty good, and you must have such a mind as a king."

This sentence made Sun Lin's heart beat sharply, but then he reacted again and said loudly: "My son will receive the order. In the future, he will use the teachings of his father to encourage himself and his subordinates, so that our Dayue can truly achieve a prosperous country and a peaceful people, and everyone can live and work in peace and prosperity."

"Haha, I feel very relieved if you have this kind of heart. Okay, it's getting late. You can send the list out now, don't delay the time of execution." The emperor smiled with satisfaction, put the list together, Wei Tang came forward, picked up the things, and sent it to King Yong.

Sun Lin took it respectfully and bowed again before leaving the hall. He hurriedly accelerated his pace to pass on the list of the emperor's approval of the emperor's decision. Only after the emperor's imperial letters could the autumn decision be officially carried out today.

In the hall behind him, the emperor seemed to be smiling and slowly sighed: "Wei Tang, what do you think of King Yong?"

"His Royal Highness Yong is outstanding in his ability and still caring for the country, so he is naturally the best."

"Where is the prince?"

"The prince is generous and filial, and is indeed a rare crown prince."

"Then tell me, who is better for them?"

Wei Tang suddenly lost his voice and looked embarrassed: "Sage..."

"Tell me, I just want to chat with you casually."

"The old slave is just a servant, how dare you discuss the pros and cons of the masters? The prince and the king of Yong are naturally both the best, and they are the princes that the saints value."

Looking at his tangled look, the emperor smiled bitterly: "You, everything else is good, but I am too brave, so I won't blame you. Forget it, you don't count on this matter anyway, so let's take a look."

Wei Tang responded softly, although his expression was the same, his heart was secretly sensible. As the emperor's close servant, he was the one who knew the emperor the best. Compared with three years or even two years ago, the emperor's dragon body was much worse than before, and aging really came.

Therefore, the emperor had to start paying attention to his affairs after his death. He had many exams for the prince and King Yong, both openly and secretly. Perhaps at the beginning, he only picked up King Yong because of his preference or wanted to balance and let him compete with the prince. But after these years, his mind has changed. He felt that perhaps changing King Yong to take over the throne was not a bad thing. After all, he was a wise king who was praised by both the court and the public.

...

The water leaked and it was almost time for noon, and the atmosphere on the side of the Dharma field had reached its peak.

Seventy or eighty thousand people surrounded the entrance of the vegetable market, and later generations could not even see the high platform, but they still rushed in without hesitation, just wanting to watch from a distance at that moment, the sword light rose and the heads fell to the ground.

Until Herodor neighed, he rode a fast horse and shouted loudly: "Get out of the way, get out of the way!"

Everyone found that it was the rider who was passing the orders of the Ministry of Justice, so they quickly avoided the left and right, drove out a way to quickly run into the court, then dismounted, and then ran to the small platform on the other side, presenting the list: "Your Majesty has an order to kill 57 serious offenders in the Ministry of Justice!"

With this sound, the surroundings were quiet at first, and then the noise surged like a tide, almost swallowing up the Dharma field.

The one who was in charge today was Zhang Qiu, the minister who was in charge. He took the list with a solemn expression and bowed to the palace far away: "I obey the order!" Then he stood up and returned to the back of the long desk, sat down, and slapped the arbor again. Of course, the voice was immediately covered by the noise - shouted: "Prepare to execute the execution and verify the correctness!"

"Test the right person--" the soldiers around him shouted together, finally suppressing the noise nearby.

"Test the right person--!" Then the guards around the court also shouted loudly in unison. The solemn tone finally completely suppressed the noise of the people and spread far away, making many people's faces change, knowing that the main show was about to begin.

On the high execution platform, dozens of death row prisoners were tied up and kneeled down on the ground. They were all confused or afraid, like puppets, but none of them started to shout. To others, they thought that this was the majesty of the official family and they had nothing to say, but in fact, they had walnuts stuffed in their mouths and couldn't speak at all. As for the purpose, it was naturally not necessary to say.

At this time, with the order to verify the correctness, several officials from the Ministry of Personnel immediately stepped forward, their eyes swept across their faces without hesitation or pause. After a moment, they shouted: "Experience the correctness, it is correct!"

Zhang Qiu straightened his back straight, and there were subordinates beside him staring at the water leak. After a moment, he stepped forward decisively: "Sir, it's three o'clock in the afternoon."

"The time has come, and I am ready to execute the execution!" Zhang Qiu gave a quick order and reached out to take a fire sign in the bamboo tube, took a red pen and quickly hooked the word "Zhun" on it, and threw it out hard, "Zhun!"

On the high platform, more than a dozen large executioners with big swords in their hands came forward. With a push, the prisoner in front of him had been pressed down. The steel knife suddenly rose and was about to be chopped down.

And just at this moment, a voice suddenly sounded from the second floor of a restaurant next to it: "Slow down!"
Chapter completed!